Apparatus for traversing draperies and the like



Jan. 23, 1951 H. BRADLEY 2,538,755

APPARATUS FOR TRAVERSING DRAPERIES AND THE LIKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledApril 10, 1946 IN VEN TOR. -/%swm0 flmmwy Jan. 23, 1951 2,538,755

APPARATUS FOR TRAVERSING DRAPERIES AND THE LIKE H. BRADLEY 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 10, 1946 Patented Jan. 23, 1951 APPARATUSFORTRAVERSING DRAPERIES AND: THE LIKE Harold Bradley, Staten Island, N. Y.,assigncr to The BradleyRotor Traverse (30., Inc., Staten Island, N. Y'.,a corporation of New York Application AprillO, 1946, Serial No. 660,926

This invention relates to the art of flexible and portable closures,partitions and panels, and has particular reference to the movement ofdraperies, such as curtains and the like, from a point of remotecontrol.

Prior practice in this regard has usually depended upon curtain rings,other slidably mounted hangers, or roller equipped carriers, mounted'ona fixed-pole or track spanning the area to be draped or the path' to betraversed by the hangers; the lead' carrier foreach panel'or drapebeingfastened to acablewhich is operated over a series of pulleys, saidlead carrier moving at the same speed as the cable, pushing or pullingthe drapery, and the other carriers attached to the drapery, to adesired position.- Such devices make no provision for preserving anequal'distribution of the fullness of the curtain, nor for automaticallycreating and maintainingpredetermined fold effects duringall stages ofoperation. vices anticipate usage in connect on with a curved path oftravel as required for the treatment of curved panels and especiaily fortravel around a path having a curved section of short radius,

as required'in the treatment of modern corner windows; the treatmentofboth of these widely accepted and increasinglypopular creations ofmodern architectural design being in growing demand and popularity dueto their pleasing lines and to their ability to provide wider visionwith a minimum of undesirable reflection effects. Furthermore, devicesknown to the prior art are inadequate for use in association withwindowsinclined from the vertical or other installations requiring curtainssecured at the top andbottom as in-airplanes, railroad cars, busses, andthe like. I

An object of this invention is to provide a meth- Neither do such de- 15Glaims. (Cl: 16.0-.-343)- 0d and apparatus for traversing draperies,from a point of remote control in a manner to preserve automatically,during all stages of operation, the equal distribution of the fullnessof the drapery in even folds according to a predetermined pleating orother hanging effect proportioned to the extent of the drapery movementacross or'rel-ative to an area to be covered or exposed;

Another object is to provide a traversing mechanism operative to movedraperies and the like in a-curved path of travel, including a curvedpath of travel of sufiiciently small-radius to permit traversing aroundsquaredor other angled corners, without alteration of a prearrangedhang.-

'- ersingamechan-ismthati-is selfeadjusting: with are- 2 gard to aplurality of hangers movable under-"the influence 01' an operatingmeanscominonto all. A still further object is to provide a draperytraversing mechanism having opposed sets of hangers movable concurrentlyin relativeop'po site directions through the agency of a singleoperating means common to the sets.

Astill further object is to provide a. drapery traversing mechanismhaving a plurality of sets of hangers movableconcurrently inlikean'dopposite relative directions over unequal distances, through theagency of a single operating means common to all sets. This permits thetreatment.

of a group of windows having unequal panels and separate draperyhangings; by means of 'a single operating unit.

A still further object is to provide-a traverse mechanism which, whenemployed to close-pairs of curtains, delivers to the point ofclosure anyextra fullness of the curtain over and'beyond the fullness required toenable the closure-to'be made; thus eliminating the tendency-of hangingsto gape at the point of' closure, said tendency to gape being due to theinability of prior devices to move this extra fullness to the point ofclosure.

Other objects will be'app'a'rent' to those-skilled in the art. In theensuing specification and claims, the term draperies is employed inageneric sense to include all free-hanging curtains or the like, as wellas those securedat both top and bottom edges for movement relativeto-the supporting means.

Another object of the invention is to provide-'3' means for traversingmaterial carrying hangers, said hangers being slidable relative to thehanger traversing mechanism when they are stoppedat theend thereof orpositively at any other point.

The present disclosure comprises an embodiment by which the. inventionis reduced to practice; It is to be understood, however, that-thestructural details and arrangements of partsare illustrative and notrestrictive, and that'variations. in the same may be made in any mannernot inconsistent with the scope of the invention as claimed.

In thedrawings:

Figure I lean elevation, partlyin secti0n,.of-a traversing mechanism andassociated=draperies constructed in accordance with the invention;

Figure-2 is an auxiliary view of a portion of a shaft having a pluralityof hanger; carriers:

mountedthereon for movementin differentxdiree etions and" for differentdistances-of travel,

Figures 3: is an elevation of. a? hanger: carrier mounted in serviceposition showing its adaptability for use on shafts of varyingdiameters;

Figure 4 is a development of a top view of Figure 3 into a single planeshowing the parallelism of the angularly disposed shafts;

Figure 5 is an elevation, partly in section, of a hanger carrier mountedin service position, showing the relative angular disposition of theroller shafts in a radial plane and disclosing a method and device forintermediate support of the rotatable shaft without interference withthe rectilinear travel of the hanger carriers on said rotatable shaft;

Figure 6 is a top elevation, partly in section, of a traversingmechanism embodying both rigid and flexible shaft sections;

Figure '7 is a section showing the method of joining rigid and flexiblesections one to another, including a detail of the non-rotatableinternal support comprising a flexible member with a dowel-like endmember which is journaled by an internal sleeve;

Figure 8 is a top elevation showing in detail the method of joiningrigid and flexible sections one to another and the method of support ofthe non-rotatable, flexible, internal support member, as well as adetail of the means of maintaining positive contact of the cable withthe rotatable shaft;

Figure 9 is an elevation similar to Figure 3 illustrating an alternativeembodiment of a hanger carrier;

- Figure 10 is a fragmentary auxiliary view of a hanger carrier, asshown in Figure 9, showing that portion of the hanger carrier whichhouses the spherical roller and its shaft;

Figure 11 is an elevation of the channeled washer which supports theroller shaft as shown in Figure 9;

Figure 12 is an elevation similar to Figure 3, but illustrating analternative embodiment of a hanger carrier;

Figure 18 is a side elevation of the hanger carrier as illustrated inFigure 12; and

Figure 14 is a top elevation of the hanger carrier as shown in Figure12.

p In detail, the apparatus comprises a drive shaft l5 of a lengthrequisite to span an area that is to be covered or exposed by draperymeans l6, here shown as a flexible fabric curtain, suspended from theshaft by means of hanger carriers IT. The drive shaft, as one of itsfunctions, serves in the manner of a conventional curtain rod or pole,and is .iournalled at each end for rotation in a fixed support I8adapted to be rigidly attached to a wall or window frame, not shown.

As illustrated, the shaft I5 is hollow, with rigid tubular end sections19 which are force fitted into a previously installed rubber-like sleeve2 which is duly compressed between the outside diameter of the tubularend section 19 and the inside diameter of the shaft I 5 insuring amaximum of frictional contact and resistance against torque stresses tobe applied. One end section has a heavier gauge rubber like sleeve 2|located between the end of the shaft I 5 and the end bracket [8 andseparated from both by metal washers 22. This extra heavy rubber sleeve2| and metal washers 22 are press fitted over the tubular end section [9and serve jointly as a pulley for cable 25. Said cable 25 is positionedand kept in posi- "tive contact with rubber-like sleeve section 2!through the medium of a small grooved roller 23 which is supported inturn by a small bracket 24 mounted on end bracket l8. This operatingcable 25 which is trained over rubber-like sleeve 2| provides the meansby which the shaft l5 may be rotated from a point of remote control.

The drive shaft may be disposed as a straight shaft or, as shown inFigure 6, it may be curved by substituting a flexible drive shaft 25 inwhole or in part, for rigid drive shaft [5, thereby conforming to thearc of curvature of an area to be covered or exposed, such as a curvedwindow or the like, not shown. The degree of curvature is determined andmaintained by the use of a curved guide member 21, either rigid orperfectly resilient in one plane and rigid in the other, disposed withinthe hollow flexible section 25 to provide a form on which the section iscarried and held against sagging. The greatest width of the curved guide2? is preferably only slightly less than the internal diameter of theflexible section 25, and is vertically disposed as shown in Figure '7.At each end, the curved guide is provided with a reduced roundedextension 28, such as a dowel pin, which projects axially into andthrough the adjacent tubular shaft coupling element 29 in looserotatable engagement therewith so that rotation of the shaft sections isnot imparted to the curved guide. Said shaft coupling element 29 is usedin conjunction with rubber-like sleeve 30 to connect the ends of therigid shaft sections l5 with the flexible section 25 for rotation as aunit, whereby rotation imparted through the manipulation of theoperating cable 25 is transmitted throughout the entire length of theshaft with all sections rotating in unison. Where desired, the shaftsections may have one or more points of intermediate support as shown inFi ure 6 on anti-friction roller bearings 3| rotating on theirrespective axial shafts 33 mounted in the U-shaped end of a wall orwindow attached bracket 32, as shown in Figure 5.

The drive shaft I5 supports a plurality of hanger carriers I1. Eachhanger comprises a hook-shaped body having a top portion 34 extendingover and across the drive shaft and mounting a pair of anti-friction orslidable rollers 35 which contact the shaft rotatably and yet slidablyat points spaced apart but within an arc of 135 degrees of its totalperiphery. The rollers, which may be hard surfaced and may take anydesired form, are here shown as spherical bearings journalled on axes 36angled with respect to the axis of the drive shaft. The angles of theaxes of both bearing rollers are equal and in the same direction, asbest shown in Figure 4. Due to this arrangement, when the shaft 15 isrotated, the bearings 35 will be correspondingly rotated by frictionalcontact with the shaft and will cause the hanger in which they aremounted to move axially along the shaft in a direction depending uponthe direction of rotation of the drive shaft. Within limits, the greaterthe angle between the shaft and roller bearing axes, the greater will bethe length of travel of the hangers per revolution of the drive shaft.

Each hanger IT is further provided at one side with a downwardlydirected shank having an inclined portion 3? which terminates in adepending eye 38 disposed in vertical registry with the drive shaftaxis. The drape I6 is provided at its upper edge portion with attachedhooks 39 for engagement to the hanger eyes to suspend the drape vertcally beneath the shaft 5 with the load distributed equally to therollers 35.

Individual hangers are mounted on the drive shaft simply by hooking themin the positions $51!??? Find they may readily be moved manuallysegments 8 :25 iron the shaftzorimay sbe adise'nga'ged with equalfifacility.

1Figure;'Qrillustrates-Ean alternative'embodiment -or :ha'nger carrier11' formed (in .rzsheet :metal stampingszi34 which whenzassembledtresemble. in configuration v: and :perform in the same, manner i as=therhanger carrierbody ShOWIlF 'iIl 'Fi'gurezi3, having'rollersi35' onaxes 36":a]nd.:iIIC1-ufling1a detpendingveye 38': for attachmentofdrapery l fiiby "means1offdraperyl'hooksiaez'or like means. rrFigurell portrays the washer-like part i14l with ;its ochannellike recessto'holdrroller axes1'36' .=and having 'fflat 'sections perpendicular :toathe .5 axis rrshaft ."channel :for the proper .centering :of athe"spherical' roller :35. "FigureL10=shows theiassemably of'rollerfi35'andaxis shaft :36'1byTtheiassem- -bly of: washer i I to thesheet:rmetalnhangerabody -asz=shown in Figure 9. :Fi'gures 12, 13 andr14illustrate:a further alterfnativeremb'odiment .ofihanger I 1"? formed:of a :-single ilength of wire 534 :bent rat the desired gangles: at itsupper.portionFtoiformfiaxles" 36 on .-which "substantially "cylindrical:rollers 35" with rounded end edges are mounted betweenre'tainers-rrswaged: from the avirersstock. These? hangers *are "similarin configuration :to the (hangers l1 -.withia downwardly :inclined shank:31" :termis-nating inva verticallyidepending;eye.:38'..

.JASshOWIl in Figure 2, individualihangers'may fzbezsetto'move'differentirdistances and int'diflerentfdirections 1 on 2. the.same fdrive :shaft and .by *Ithe :same operation. 1 For :example, the"hangers -13; and JG 1 having their roller zaxes at equal and eoppositeangles r-willi move in oppositeadirections .;either:to.ward or awayfromeeach otheridepending vuponthe direction .ofrrotation- :of the'drivezshaft.

The hanger A having its roller axes ata lesser angle twithirespecttothe: .driveg'shaftr axis than the hanger :B, ibut in .the .sameadirection, will move With=the1hanger B 'inpthe'isame "direction and fora. lesser distance perrevolutionpof the .fdriveshaft. :This method .ofioperationdsgparticularly advantageous in -.the case .of :center meetingicurtains' andI-in creating; and maintain- 'ing:.a predetermined fold.efiect'iproportionedtto .the extentuofitravel of: acurtain.

In operation,v a requisite num-ber of hangers is :mounted on the drive'shaftand a drapery hung by engagement-of its attached "hooks with thehanger 7 eyes. The non-traveling edge 7 of 'the I drape is anchored byhooking a 'pinin a retainer '40 carried "by the adjacent support I8.Upon :rotation of the'drive shaft by appropriate mam-p.-

ulation of 'the actuating cable 25, the hangers will be caused to travelalong the shaft to open .oruclose 'the.drapedepending upon the directionof rotation of the drive shaft. With the hangers arranged in propersequence, as indicated in Figured, they-will. be moved; individually andin unison. For any given number of revolutions of the drive-shaft,eachhanger will move in proportion to the total distance itis requiredto travel whenthe drape is fully opened. By this arrangement, drapes-may -be partially opened orclosed 'yet .will I automatically retain, inproportion, a prearranged proportionate fold pattern.

A feature of the invention-resides in the point contact of the bearingrollers. on the drive shaft. This enables the rollerstogslip on thedrive shaft j when the hanger on which they are mounted has reached-thelimit'of its travel "and is restrained hy the holdingsection pf the'drape.

Another feature of the invention resides in'a hanger carrier which doesnot completely encompass the periphery of the rotating shaft, but

6 :lrathernlprovi'des sufficientopeningieto allowsinter- .zmediatesupport of'zsaid-"shafti at any point,.without interference with thetraversing .-.funct ion.

Although the present inventionzhas'z-been-idescribedfin.:conjunctionwithpreferred embodL ments, it is to :be understood that modifications.-;and variations may "ibe resorted to .withoutzdeaparting: from thespirit of the: inventiom-as those skilledin the artpwill readilyunderstand. Thus,

"? for example-my hangers or 'carriersccan be used fin itandem within asingle *frame or as'units coupled by rigidconnecting means.

'I claim: :1. Traverse mechanism for draperies compris- 15 :1 ing, :incombination, a rotatable shaft, drapery 'hanger "carriers "freelysuspended therefrom,

rotatable bearings in said carriers on axes angled frelativeto the"shaft: axis said angle being selected wto give the desired movement ofthe carrier? longietudinally on said. shaft and being "less than 90"i'relativeito'the shaft'axis, and supporting-said 'carrierson' theshaft, and means fOr rotating said =1 shaft wherebyito cause rectilinearmovementiof the 'carriersalongithe shaft.

'2. Traversemechanism for draperies comprising, in combination arotatable: shaft including rigid' sections and .a'ihollow "flexible.Lsection .coninecte'd for rotation'as a unit, a form in said'iflexiblesectionfor imparting adesired 'bend thereto,

hanger carrierson saidshaft, anti friction'rollers zin-said carriers.and bearing on said shaftwith their axes angled relative toithe: shaft:axissaid .tangle *.being selected 1 to give the ides-ired: movement ofthe carrier longitudinally-'on'saidshaft,

:andzbeing less'than 90 andrn'ore than 0. and

- means" for rotatingsai'd shaft'androllers whereby to move saidcarriers therealong.

3.' I-n.a drapery traverse mechanismhaving a rotatable shaft and hangers:suspende'd there- 40 from, hard-surfaced roller bearings in saidhangers and in point contact with said shaft to support the hangersthereon, .'.and the axes of said rollers beingangled lessthan90 relativeto 'the axis of the-shaftso that: said "hangers will move alongsaidshaft.upon'rotation oftheshaft. 4.1m a drapery :traverse'mechanismhaving a rotatable shaft :and -a plurality of traveling :hangersthereon, apair of rollers in each hanger "contact with the shaft andsupporting the 1Lhanger thereon, said rollersbeing angled less ithan andmorethan 0 relative :to' the shaft Luponwhich it is supported and beingspaced apart and makingcontact with the shaft- Within .an4arcofsubstantially degrees of'the'total '2Tperiphery .of the shaft.

5. In-a drap ery traverse mechanism 'having: a rotatable shaft and ap'lurality of traveling hangers thereon, a pair of rollers-in each'hanger tiin contact-wi'th the shaft and supporting the go-ihangerthereon, and. the axes of'theroll rs in. any individual -hanger i beingequally Jangled :relative to'i the-shaft axisand disposed in thelsamedirection said angles" being less thani90 relativetothe eaxis ofithe:shaft-and:selectedi'to give thezdesired -travel =toeach of Yathe hangersas 'ithershafti'is irotate'd.

=6 In %a drapery traverse .m'echanismmaving a rotatable shaft "and :aplurality -of utraveling '"hangersithereonpapair'jof rollers in eachfhanger To -in :ccontactxwith .:the shaft and supporting the i'hangerthereon, zxthexaxes of i the -'iro1lers in any iin'dividual i:han'gersbeing t'd-isposed 1.111 'rthe ame direction less than 90 relative tothe axis} of said shaft and at equal angles to the axis of said 75shaft, and the angle of the roller axes inat least one hanger beingdifferent from the angle of the roller axes in the other hangers so thatsaid hangers will travel at different speeds as the shaft is turned.

7. In a drapery traverse mechanism having a plurality of travelinghangers with hanger driving means, a rotatable shaft supporting saidhangers on said driving means and in driving engagement said hangerdriving means being in frictional engagement with said shaft, said shaftcomprising rigid straight sections and at least one curved sectionmaintained in a predetermined contour and connected for rotation as aunit, with said straight portions, the exterior face of said curvedsection being flexible and means for rotating said shaft to move saidhangers therealong.

8. In a drapery traverse mechanism having a plurality of travelinghangers with hanger moving means, a rotatable shaft having an exteriorsurface supporting said hangers and in driving engagement with saidmoving means, said shaft comprising rigid straight sections and at leastone hollow curved section with a flexible exterior surface connected endto end for rotation as a unit, a shaped guide extending through andsupporting said hollow flexible section against deformation as theshafts are rotated, support means in the rigid straight sections, andthe ends of said shaped guide having rotatable bearing engagement insaid support means and means connected to at least one of said shaftsfor rotating the shafts as a unit for traversing said hangers supportedthereby.

9. Traverse mechanism for draperies including a hollow, rotatable shafthaving a flexible exterior surface, a support for each end thereof, acurved guide extending through said shaft and supporting the sameagainst deformation, the ends of said guide having freely rotatableengagement in said supports, driven hangers having hanger moving meanssupported on and in frictional operative connection with the surface ofsaid shaft, and means for rotating said shaft to effect longitudinalmovement of the hangers.

10. In a drapery traverse mechanism, a rotatable shaft, a hanger havinga shank disposed at one side of the shaft, 2, portion of said shankbeing extended transversely over the shaft, roller bearings in saidextended portion and contacting the shaft on axes equally angled withrespect to the shaft axis and at angles less than 90 relative to saidshaft axis, said shank further having a depending portion inclinedbeneath the shaft, and the terminal of said inclined portion having adepending drapery engageable portion in registry with the shaft axis.

11. In a material traversing apparatus for drapery or the like, arotatable shaft, a plurality of material supporting hangers havingrotatable hanger driving means on axes less than 90 and greater thanrelative to the shaft axis, and means for rotating the shaft carryingsaid hangers, said driving means being in frictional engagement withsaid shaft and rotatable thereby as the shaft rotates to traverse saidhangers along the shaft, said hangers slipping relative to said shaftwhen positively stopped.

12. In a material traversing apparatus for drapery or the like, arotatable shaft, a plurality of material supporting hangers havingrotatable hanger driving means on axes less than 90 and greater than 0relative to the shaft axis, each of the hangers having the axis of thedriving means therefore at different angles relative to said rotatableshaft so that said hangers will move different distances on said shaftas said shaft is rotated, and means for rotating the shaft carrying saidhangers, said driving means being in frictional engagement with saidshaft and rotatable thereby as the shaft rotates to traverse saidhangers along the shaft, said hangers slipping relative to said shaftwhen positively stopped.

13. In a material traversing apparatus, a rotatable shaft, materialsuspending hangers carried by said shaft, and hang-er driving means onsaid hangers moving said hangers along said shaft in unison as saidshaft is rotated, the axis of each of said hanger driving means beingpreset at angles less than and more than 0 relative to the axis of saidshaft maintaining said hangers the same proportional distance apart atall times between a fully extended relationship and a contractedrelationship, said hangers being adapted to slip relative to said shaftwhen positively stopped.

14. In a material traversing apparatus, a rotatable shaft, a pluralityof material supporting hangers having hanger driving means frictionallycontactable with said shaft, said driving means being rotatably mountedon axes on said hangers, said axes being less than 90 and greater than 0relative to the shaft axis, and shaft rotating means, said driving meansbeing in frictional engagement with said shaft and rotatable thereby asthe shaft rotates to traverse said hangers and materials carried therebyalong the shaft, said hangers slipping relative to said shaft whenpositively stopped.

15. In a material traversing apparatus, a rotatable shaft means, aplurality of material supporting hangers suspended from said shaftmeans, said hangers having frame means passable by supportingarrangements for said rotatable shaft means, hanger driving means onsaid material supporting hangers frictionally contactable with therotatable shaft means, said driving means being rotatably mounted onaxes on said hangers, said axes being less than 90 and greater than 0relative to the axis of the rotatable shaft means, and shaft rotatingmeans, said driving means being in frictional engagement with said shaftand rotatable thereby as the shaft rotates to traverse said hangers andmaterials carried thereby along the shaft, said hangers slippingrelative to said shaft when positively stopped.

HAROLD BRADLEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Germany v 1908

